(a) In any case of difference between the two houses upon any measure, and prior to adoption of a motion to adhere by a majority of those elected to either house, either house may request a conference and appoint a committee for that purpose and the other house shall also appoint a similar committee.
(b) Each such committee shall consist of three members of the house appointing the same, with a chairman designated, and the two committees jointly shall constitute a conference committee. Notwithstanding any rule of the House of Representatives or any rule of the Senate to the contrary, one of the three members of such committee appointed by each house shall be a member of the minority party of that house and shall be appointed by the minority leader of that house. A majority of the members of each committee appointed by each house shall be necessary to approve a majority report of any conference committee submitted to the General Assembly.
(b.5) A minority conference committee report shall be drafted by the Office of Legislative Legal Services upon the request of any member of a conference committee. No minority conference committee report shall be considered in either house unless it is approved by one member of the conference committee from each house.
(c) The conference committee shall meet at such time and place as shall be designated by the chairman of the committee on the part of the house requesting such conference and said chairman shall preside over the meetings of the conference committee. The conference committee shall be attended by and staffed by a staff member of the Office of Legislative Legal Services and by a staff member of the Legislative Council. The conferees shall confer fully on the reasons of their respective houses concerning the differences between the two houses on the measure before them.
(d) With the consent of a majority of members elected to each of the two houses, the conference committee may report on matters beyond the scope of the differences between the two houses; otherwise the committee shall report only on matters directly at issue between the two houses.
(e) When a conference committee has reached a decision, the staff member from the Office of Legislative Legal Services shall draft a conference committee report reflecting the agreements of the committee. Every conference committee report shall be in writing.
(f) All documents shall be left with the conferees of the house assenting to such conference, and they shall present the report of the conference committee to their house. When such house shall have acted thereon, it shall transmit the same and the papers relating thereto to the other house, with a message certifying its action thereon.
(g) Every report of a conference committee shall be read through in each house before a vote is taken on the same.
(h) If all the members who signed the first report of a conference committee agreed that the report contains an error, conflict, or inconsistency which cannot be corrected pursuant to Joint Rule No. 16 (a), and a technical change is necessary in order to reflect the true intent of the General Assembly, the conference committee may present a second report for the sole purpose of correcting such error, conflict, or inconsistency after meeting and unanimous agreement of all members who signed the first report. Such a second report shall be clearly labeled as a corrected report. A corrected report may be presented at any time, but it may not be presented if the first report has been rejected by either house. A corrected report shall be first considered by the house assenting to the conference, without the necessity of a motion for reconsideration or the matter being placed on the calendar, and the motions shall be "To adopt the corrected report of the conference committee in lieu of the first report of said committee", and "To repass the measure as amended". If the motions pass, the measure shall be considered as having been repassed with the corrections contained in the corrected report and shall be transmitted to the house requesting the conference for similar action. No action taken on a corrected report pursuant to this subsection (h) shall be deemed to be the rejection of the first report of the conference committee (which has already been approved) within the meaning of Joint Rule No. 6. If the corrected report is rejected, and the first report has not yet been approved or rejected in the same house, rejection of the second report shall constitute rejection of the first report.
(i) When a conference committee has met, reached a decision, and instructed the Office of Legislative Legal Services' staff to prepare a report, the signing of the report by the committee members shall constitute approval of the report and ratification of the decision made by the conference committee. No report which includes matters beyond the scope of the differences between the two houses shall be signed until consent to report on such matters has been given in accordance with subsection (d) of this Joint Rule.